The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love, he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.

~ Zephaniah 3:17

I hope you all enjoyed a safe, fun, and firework-filled Fourth of July! It’s crazy to think that July is now coming to an end. With August around the corner, it’s time to remind you of things on the horizon that should be on your radar before the new school year begins.

Make sure to stock up on uniforms! An e-mail was just sent with an updated Dress Code and links to Land’s End and Tommy Hilfiger stores to purchase new uniforms. As always, please stop by and visit the Uniform Exchange Closet for gently used items, if needed.

Don’t forget about school supply shopping! (It’s hard to forget, since stores have had things on display for weeks now. Crazy!) This year’s supply list is available on our website at http://www.sjsonline.org/supply-lists/.

Coming soon, you’ll receive an updated copy of the Parent/Student Handbook. Please make sure to read it thoroughly to understand the policies of the school. If you have questions at any time about its contents, do not hesitate to contact me.

I am happy to welcome a new part-time member to our faculty/staff—who will wear a plethora of hats (like most of us at St. Joe’s!). She will work with several grade levels as an Education Assistant in Math (which she possesses a Bachelor’s degree in), she will partner with Mrs. Schafer to streamline our students’ transition to high schools, and she has kindly offered her services as a Math tutor before and after her daily SJES responsibilities. Most of you know and love her already, as both of her children graduated from St. Joe’s (her son in 2015; her daughter last year) … It’s my pleasure to officially welcome Tracee Sama to our faculty/staff family! Tracee is our only new hire; all other administrators, teachers, and staff members on the Main Campus are excited to begin another year at Saint Joseph’s—in the same roles and classrooms as last year! If you have specific questions regarding our wonderful faculty/staff, please contact me.

Now, at our Early Childhood Academy (ECA), change is a-comin’! Our fabulous On-Site Director, Ms. Dolores, has determined that she would like to go back into the classroom after many years in an administrative role. Thankfully, we have a teacher at the ECA who possesses a Director’s credential through the Department of Children & Families and who is eager to step into Dolores’ position: Ms. Ellen! So, this year, Dolores will train and mentor Ellen to adequately prepare for the transition in the 2018-2019 school year. Oh, and did I mention that Ms. Dolores will switch places with Ms. Ellen and teach in the Sunflowers classroom?! We’re grateful that Ms. Dolores isn’t leaving us; she’s just changing positions—and she will be on-hand to assist Ellen and the other fantastic teachers at the ECA in any way, shape, or form. Congratulations to Ms. Dolores and to Ms. Ellen!

Construction on our new, state-of-the-art SmartLab has begun. The sliding glass door connecting it to the Computer Lab is in the process of being installed, as you can see. (Special thanks to McCabe Brothers for their amazing work!) Now, the SmartLab can be painted before hardware and furniture are delivered in the coming weeks.

Our new playground has been delivered! As soon as our permit is ready, construction will commence. An e-mail was sent recently asking for volunteers over a two-week period. Any helping hands would be extremely helpful! Please contact Jen Pisciotto at jen.pisciotto@gmail.com if you’re available. We are extremely excited to utilize this playground during daily Recess visits this year!

Thanks to last year’s Call to the Heart, we were able to purchase four new interactive projectors! Mr. Coyle, Mrs. Midden, Mrs. Jacobs, and Mrs. Tasca are eagerly anticipating using them in their classrooms next year—just another way we are moving “full STREAM ahead”!

Several of our faculty/staff members have been busy over the summer utilizing our generous Professional Development fund by attending conferences and furthering their education/expertise in their respective areas. Mrs. Aperavich just returned from the RenWeb Conference in Dallas, TX with plenty of exciting marketing strategies, social media tips, and more! Mrs. Carter is currently a “college student” in a two-week Orff training at Florida International University. Mrs. Jacobs is excited about our new STREAM initiative, so she spent a day at a STEAM conference to learn how “the Arts” play an important role in our philosophy. Finally, Pastor Lynne began coursework toward her Doctorate in Educational Ministry this summer. Just wait ‘til you see how she incorporates what she’s learning into her Sacred Studies curriculum and in our worship services!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns over the summer, please reach out to the Office and/or to me directly. The Office’s summer hours are 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM on Tuesdays through Thursdays. With that being said, all of us in the Office (Mary, Rhiannon, Janet, Kelly, and me) are available via e-mail, so please don’t hesitate to contact us.

I know Mr. Pat Coyle’s Whispering Pines Day Camp was the spotlight last month; however, I felt compelled to do it again! With the help of Ms. Speyer, Miss Maha, Counselors, and Counselors-in-Training (CITs), take a look at what campers created and presented to families on Friday, July 21ST! What an amazing feat—completed in just two weeks—in Art, STEM, and Performance!